ASHLAND – According to a civil action filed last week in U.S. District
Court in Ashland, Hazel Campbell of Lovely, received a “severe”
brain injury for which she “underwent surgery to relieve three hematomas
on her brain” and that the injury was cause by Ford Motor Company’s
negligence.

Campbell and her husband, Ken Campbell, seek $5 million compensation for
medical care and treatment, pain and suffering and other consequences
of the injury and $15 million as punitive damages in the action filed
on her behalf by Kirk Law Firm.

Campbell alleges that on January 19, 2005, she was a passenger and her
husband was driving a 2003 Ford Ranger on U.S. 23 in Boyd County when
“he lost control of the truck due to the icy conditions of the highway
and struck a concrete wall of the bridge head-on.”

The suit alleges the truck was “equipped with an airbag safety restraint
system” but that “the truck’s airbags failed to properly
deploy even though the crash severity was sufficient to warrant deployment
of the airbag, and despite the fact that the crash severity exceeded threshold
that is required for the airbag to deploy.”

Ford, according to the suit’s allegations, “had a duty to design,
manufacture and market the Ford Ranger so that it would provide consumers,
including Hazel Campbell, with reasonable protection during a foreseeable
collision such as the subject collision” and that Ford “had
a duty to warn consumers, including Hazel Campbell, of any unreasonably
dangerous conditions in the 2003 Ford Ranger.”

Ford Breached these duties, the plaintiffs allege, by “negligently
designing, manufacturing, marketing and selling the subject truck so that
it was unreasonably dangerous” and, they allege, “Ford’s
negligence was so wanton and willful as to evidence a conscious disregard
of the rights and lives of others, including Hazel Campbell.”

“The airbag failed to deploy,” John Kirk (whose law firm represents
the Plaintiffs) said, “and because of that Hazel, even though she
was restrained by a seatbelt, sustained a severe closed-head injury that
has caused devastating consequences to her and Ken.